Everything has it's own lifetime.

Have you ever thought about the 'stuff' you have in your house?  Where'd you get it? Why'd you get it? Why do you still have it? What will you do with it when you don't want or need it anymore?

This is an example of that, it's my Grandma Benoit's sugar bowl.  Grandma gave it to my mom years ago, so long ago that it's the only sugar bowl I ever remember us having on our table in the house I grew up in.  It was given to me by my mom and we've been using it for about 15 years, maybe longer.  I know we've used it ever since we moved into this house.

It's always sad when an accident happens and you loose something that you've had for a long time and you thought you'd have even longer.  Today is that day. 

The sugar bowl slipped from Jody's hand and hit the edge of the trivet shown here.  Nasty crack, he wanted to glue it back together, knowing that it was one of my grandma's things.  Nah, it's toast.  I'll just keep my eyes peeled for another one.  This one was coveted by my antique dealer friend because it was an Art Deco piece.  I'll just have her start looking for one or Nita will run across one somewhere, she usually finds the things I want. 

It's OK, it's a little sad, but it does make me think... what do we do with all this stuff that's been handed down to us through the years.  The single dinner plates, one from Grandma Benoit's china and one from Grandma Nelson's china. The milk glass cake pedestal, the rose colored etched fruit bowls, the etched glass bowl that was a gift given to Grandma N by her youngest daughter?  Do my kids want this stuff?  What about the dining room furniture table with 5 leaves and china cabinet with hand rolled glass and mercury mirrors?  How's that going to fit on a boat or in a backpack tent? 

How long do we hang onto stuff like the Ninja Turtles, Tonka Trucks and well used Barbies in the attic?  We've got stuff that's gotta go.  We'll hang on to the stuff we still use, like tables and china cabinets, but there's a bunch of boxes we've got to get out of here. 

I don't own stuff, it owns me.